• Beautiful picture of aurora from space

    NASA astronaut Doug Wheelock took the below picture from the International Space Station. I think the image was taken on 13August 13. A larger version can be found on-line.

  • Earth and Moon seen from 183 million kilometers away

    The MESSENGER team have released the below image of the Earth and Moon as seen from 183 million kilometers away by the MESSENGER spacecraft which is currently on its way to orbit the innermost planet in our solar system: Mercury. The image was released on 17 August 2010 (US time). Text from the image webpage: [...]

  • This Weeks Predictable Sky and Space Events (15 – 21 August 2010)

    These notes are intended to provide a casual skywatcher or someone already into amateur astronomy living in the Australian Capital Territory or in South East Queensland (Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast) with a short summary of what is happening in the night sky this week. Most of the information will also be [...]

  • Planets and Moon dazzle in the sky tonight

    It is not too late to see most of this evenings planetary and lunar gathering. While Mercury has slipped below my local horizon, the remaining three planets and the crescent Moon remain visible. The above image captures a wide angle view of the planetary and lunar gathering. Mercury is visible just above the trees. The [...]

  • Rare planetary conjunction won’t be visible again until 2040!

    I set one of my astronomy computer programs the challenge of identifying when a similar planetary conjunction to this weeks will occur (ie. when the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Venus and Saturn would be within 18.5 degrees of each other), and came up with a surprising result. We will have to wait until early September 2040 [...]

  • Other Recent Articles

  • Finder chart for Thursday 12 August 2010. Look above the Western horizon as evening twilight ends.

    This Weeks Predictable Sky and Space Events (8 – 14 August 2010)

    These notes are intended to provide a casual skywatcher or someone already into amateur astronomy living in the Australian Capital Territory or in South East Queensland (Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast) with a short summary of what is happening in the night sky this week. Most of the information and finder charts [...]

    Aug 07, 2010 | 1 comment | View Post